crinums in bloom

James Waddick via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Sun, 05 Jul 2020 09:12:27 PDT
Dear PBS friends in Cooler zones,

	Please be aware that some Crinum do very well in cooler zones and are not ALL plants for milder climates. I have been growing a variety of Crinum species and hybrids for decades and am shocked when good gardeners don’t believe they grow in the ground and are not dug every winter.  I have average winter lows of 0F and lower, summer high above 100 F. All Crinum appreciate abundant watering here, but my climate is very dry most seasons.

	One of the easiest and cheapest to try if you doubt my words is C. x powellii although I do not recommend it. It is totally hardy, vigorous and floriferous, but its flowers are not especially attractive with narrow petals and pale wimpy pink. It is may be too vigorous and spread rapidly. Fortunately it does not produce seed, but the clump expands yearly. There are so many MUCH better Crinums.

	One of the  nicest and easiest is C. bulbispermum. It is very easy from seed if given a very little care when it is young. In decades of growing this here I do not think I have had any self sown seedlings.  I just sent a pile of seed to the Seed Ex. Seed must be planted immediately as they do not keep long and will germinate in or out of the soil. Press fresh seed into damp soil or sand only about 1/2 deep as they need light to germinate. A large root will emerge and go into the soil. Soon after a single thin leaf will emerge . Wait until the second leaf then cover the seed with an inch of soil.  If you have one seed per pot keep this seedling frost free over the first winter. If you have a pot of seedlings transfer to 1 seed  to a pot for winter care. In spring after frost you can either move it to  a larger pot until fall or plant it right in a sunny spot in the garden. Either way it is ready for the garden. It may take a year or 2 or 3 before it blooms, but it will. It is slow to form a clump, but will bloom for years.

	There are many excellent Crinum for the northern garden, but a few comments:

	“Super Ellen”. Huge abundant flowers, but gets to 6 ft tall and a spread of 8 to 10 ft or more. Not for the small garden.Gorgeous flowers.

	‘Glory’ a smaller plant, but similar to ’Super Ellen’. 

	C. powellii  ‘Alba’ a pure white form of this hybrid, but with nicely formed pure white flowers.

	‘Cecil Houdyshel’ a nice pink x powelli type.

	Many others.  I should mention a couple that have not grown for me, but are abundant and popular in the southern : ‘Ellen Bousanquet’ , x herbertii , ‘“Milk and Wine” types all proved too tender here. Avoid C asiatum and variants.

	And finally if  this has sparked any interest go to the PBS image pages for species and hybrids. Start here:  https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

	Do consider finding room for at least one Crinum in Zone 5 and certainly in Zone 6 . 		enjoy		Jim




On Jul 5, 2020, at 9:10 AM, Tim Eck via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

Thanks Jim,
I live in zone 6B, about 60 miles due west of Philadelphia but I overwinter
the pots in an unheated greenhouse.  I am starting to plant some out in a
field this year for the first time.  My Super Ellen has produced very few
seed over the years, but this could be one of them.
Or it could be a migrating tag.  I have occasional helpers re-potting and
they don't always pick up the same tag they lay down - a source of great
frustration.
Tim

On Sun, Jul 5, 2020 at 9:36 AM James Waddick via pbs <
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

> Tim,
> 
>        Not knowing where you live, I can't tell for sure as some of these
> are not hardy every where.  As I understand ’Super Ellen’ is not self
> fertile and my plant in Kansas City has grown here for over a decade and
> never produced a seed even with hand pollination attempts.
> 
>        I suspect you live in a mild climate if you grow this in an above
> ground pot so that’s the end of my guesses.  It is however very beautiful.
>          Jim
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 4, 2020, at 8:33 PM, Tim Eck via pbs <
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
> 
> Here is an unknown hybrid where the first half of the tag was destroyed and
> the second half said "X Herbertii".
> I suspect it is SuperEllen x Herbertii or SuperEllen x self.  Maybe Eagle
> Rock x Herbertii?
> I would appreciate any opinions..
> 
> Dr. James Waddick
> 8871 NW Brostrom Rd
> Kansas City, MO 64152-2711
> USA
> Phone     816-746-1949
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> pbs mailing list
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
> http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
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Dr. James Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd
Kansas City, MO 64152-2711
USA
Phone     816-746-1949





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